The present invention relates generally to telecommunications, and in particular, to a method and apparatus for monitoring telephone lines in real time for connection and content details to enhance service to subscribers.
Telecommunications service providers are continually striving to improve their networks and the services provided by their networks. This requires some degree of network management, long term usage forecasting, service differentiation for billing and targeted sales opportunities. A telecommunications service provider is presented with a number of challenges in trying to improve its network and network services. Recently, the increase in data traffic due to the Internet and other data communications has presented additional challenges to the telecommunications service provider to manage its network and determine usage forecasting. In particular, the diversity of call types, including voice calls, data calls, and video traffic, provides a great deal of variance in the needs and usage of a telecommunications network.
Presently, summary information relating to calls placed over a telecommunications network is collected for analyzing network usage and long term forecasting. This summary information typically includes billing type information, such as the called number, calling number, time of the call and duration of the call. While this information is important, it is not adequate for monitoring diverse network usage, including a mixture of voice and data calls. Also, this summary information is not typically analyzed during a period in which the call is made. In other words, this summary data is not analyzed in real time for determining network services and management. Also, the summary information fails to adequately indicate the quality of service provided by the network over the call.
In light of the shortcomings of only having summary information related to calls for network management and forecasting, a need exists for enhanced subscriber line call monitoring that provides real-time data relating to calls, including data for analyzing the quality of service.
In accordance with the present invention, a method and apparatus are provided for enhanced subscriber line call monitoring. The method and apparatus include a telecommunications switch in conjunction with an adjunct processor that is coupled to the telecommunications switch. The telecommunications switch terminates a plurality of communication lines to subscriber equipment. Preferably the switch, in conjunction with the adjunct processor, monitors calls associated with subscriber equipment terminated on the telecommunications switch. First, a telephone call is established with a subscriber line via the telecommunications switch. If the call is to be monitored, as determined by alternative selection criteria, then a connection is established between the telecommunications switch and the adjunct processor. Call identifying information associated with the telephone call is sent to the adjunct processor along with all call content generated and received by the subscriber line during the call. Optionally, call content is altered, scrambled, or encrypted to protect the subscriber""s privacy, without changing the transmission quality. The adjunct processor stores the call content and call identifying information for analysis, including real-time analysis of the type of call, quality of the call, and duration of the call. The adjunct processor provides real-time feedback to the telecommunications switch so that the telecommunications switch may modify service, for example, to adjust a per-line impedance matching network to improve transmission quality.
The enhanced call monitoring is used for network forecasting, network rearrangement, routing changes, quality studies, new service selection, selective marketing, and alarms on certain events or thresholds.